Improvement in flour-bolts



F. S. THAYER.

Flour Bolt.

Patented; April 11, 1 865.

N. FtTERs Phmo-ut hagnyhon Wahingtw. v.1;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS S. TIIAYER, OF TROY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN FLOUR-BOLTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 47,233, dated April 11,1865.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS S. THAYER, of the city of Troy, county ofItensselacr, and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Machines for Bolting Flour; and I do declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same,reference being bad to the accompanyin g drawings, making a part of thisspecification, and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

When the flour to be bolted has been rendered damp, either by thepeculiar atmosphere or by being made of damp or new grain, in theordinary method of bolting flour the boltin g-clot-h is liable to becomechoked or clogged, and thus the free bolting of the flour is rendereddifficult and imperfect but when the weather is dry and the flour to bebolted has been made of dry grain, the ordinary bolt will perform itswork satisfactorily and efficiently.

The nature and object of my invention is to add to the ordinaryflour-bolt a simple contrivance which can be easily applied so as tosuit it to all the conditions of the weather and the work to be done.

To enable others to make and use my invention, I will proceed todescribe the same with reference to the drawings.

Figure 1 is a cross-section of the bolt between the arms which supportthe longitudinal pieces to which the bolting-cloth is attached. Fig. 2is a cross-section of the tube and longitudinal pieces and weights(shown full size) broken off at F.

The bolt is constructed in the ordinary way, with a shaft or axis, B,passing through its center longitudinally, upon which the bolt turns,having bearings at each end. The longitudinal pieces A are supported byradial arms extending from the axis B, and the bolt ing-cloth H isfastened upon these longitudinal pieces in the usual manner. Between thesets of radial arms I inserta hollow shaft or tube, 0, passingtransversely through the bolt from one longitudinal piece to the other,passing directly through the shaft B. One end of this tube 0 is closedand inserted in one of the longitudinal pieces fitting snugly into ahole made for its reception, as shown at A, passing partly through thelongitudinal piece, the bottom of the tube 'restin g against the wood.The other end of the tube 0 passes entirely through the oppositelongitudinal piece, as shown at A This end of the tube 0 E is a weightplaced within this tube O,

when this weight E is inserted and the screw D is secured to its place.The revolutionof the bolt will carry the tube 0 around in a planeperpendicular to the axis of the bolt, and the weight will be carriedwith it to the upper part of the periphery of the bolt. When the tubehas reached a position nearly vertical, the weight E will, by its owngravity, drop through the tube 0 to the opposite or lower side of thebolt, and will thereby impart a sudden jar or blow to the bolting-cloth,and thus deliver it of the flour which would otherwise adhere to it andclog up the apertures of the bolting-cloth. Thus, in a dry atmosphereand with flour ground from dry grain, the use of the weight can bedispensed with by simply removing the screw D and allowing the weight todrop out; or, if the circumstances of the case require it, more than oneweight can be used. Should itbe founddesirable to give the bolting-clotha less jar than even one of these weights would give it, a smallerweight can be used; or a piece of india-rubber or other elastic materialcan be placed in the tube 0 above and below the weight, and thussomewhat break the force of the blow caused by the falling of theweight.

I am aware that weights have been used for this purpose arranged toslide upon the radial arms of the bolt; but the objection to this systemis twofold: First, they cannot be graduated to strike a hard or lightblow to suit the various circumstances of the case; and, seeondly, theycause a direct,c0nstant hammerin gupon the axis or shaft of the bolt. Byrefence to the drawings itwill be seen that in my system there is nodirect hammering upon the axis or shaft of the bolt, as the weight fallsdirectly from one end of the diameter to the other independent of theshaft or axis of the bolt. I have deemed it unnecessary in the drawingsto showmore than one tube and its connections. In an ordinary bolteighteen feet in length I deem it best to use two tubes for each pair oflongitudinal opposite pieces, making six tubes for one bolt. These tubesshould be so arranged as to pass through the shaft or axis of the boltat places so far apart as not to weaken the shaft. These tubes may bemade of gas-pipe, and should have an internal diameter of aboutthree-fourths of an inch, and the weights should be of a correspondingsize so as to slide freely within the tubes.

Having thus fully described the purpose and object of my invention, whatI claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The use of one or more falling weights in combination with an inclosedtube, when the said tube passes entirely through the shaft, thusallowing the weights to fall from side to side of the bolt, the wholeoperating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

Witnesses: FRANCIS S. THAYER.

Frrz HENRY KNIGHT, ROBERT OoLWELL.

